Most Canadians Unaware of Lack of Restrictions on Abortions
Four-in-ten respondents think a woman can have an abortion only during the first three months of her pregnancy.
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(08/03/10) -
Four-in-ten respondents think a woman can have an abortion only during the first three months of her pregnancy.
Many Canadians ignore the fact that abortion procedures are not subject to any restrictions, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,022 Canadian adults, only 21 per cent of respondents know that in Canada a woman can request an abortion at any time during her pregnancy, with no restrictions whatsoever.
Conversely, 41 per cent of Canadians are under the impression that abortions are only available to women during the first three months of gestation.
Fifteen per cent of respondents think abortions are only allowed in the first trimester and only if the woman’s life is in danger, if there has been a rape, or if the foetus has serious complications.
One-in-ten think women can only have an abortion if their life is in danger, if there has been a rape, or if the foetus has serious complications.
Regulating Abortion
As for what Canadians would like abortion regulations to look like, the two most accepted options are the status quo (no restrictions) at 27%); and limiting the procedure to the first trimester without restrictions and then during the next six months but only if the woman’s life is in danger, if they have been the victim of rape, or if the foetus has serious defects (22%). No other option has the support from more than 15 per cent of Canadians.
Four-in-ten Canadians (41%) say they personally feel that abortions should be legal in all cases. A quarter (23%) support legal abortions but with some restrictions; 18 per cent only want legal abortions in cases of emergency; and nine per cent would only allow abortions to save a woman’s life.
Personal feeling differs slightly with what Canadians think the laws should regulate. Almost half of respondents (48%) say abortions should remain unrestricted, 42 per cent say they should be legal but restricted, and only six per cent say they should always be illegal.
Health Care
Canadians are divided on whether the state-run health care system should fund abortions or not: 44 per cent support funding in all cases, whereas 39 per cent support funding only in emergency situations.
Information and Consent
A majority of Canadians (55%) think women under the age of 18 should require consent from their parents or legal guardians to get an abortion; one third of respondents (32%) disagree.
While half of respondents (50%) consider that pregnant women have enough access to information about different options such as counselling and adoption, 31 per cent say they do not. A large majority (79%) would support provincial legislation demanding that health workers give information about alternatives to abortion to pregnant women.
A New Debate?
Although most Canadians (55%) think there is no point in re-opening the debate on abortion in the country, three-in-ten respondents (30%) believe it is time to re-open the discussion.
Our previous poll on abortion in Canada, conducted in January 2010, is available here.
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Jaideep Mukerji, Vice President, Public Affairs
+514 409 0462
jaideep.mukerji@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From July 7 to July 8, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,022 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
